Blue Skies

Join the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra for a shining concert at Lighthouse, Poole on Wednesday 11 March. Chief Conductor Mark Wigglesworth leads the orchestral through the symphonic seasons of Bridge, Rachmininov and Ravel, who’s Piano Concerto will be performed by Alexandre Tharaud.Bridge’s Summer arose from his desire to escape to the country during the first months of the First World War. Steeped in delicious harmonies and very free rhythmically, it evokes the warmth of an English summer day with strings creating a haze against which wind instruments emerge and recede. Despite writing a great deal of music for solo piano, Ravel wrote only two piano concertos: his last major compositions before the onset of his tragic brain illness. The Concerto in G was a showcase for his remarkable virtuosity and compositional talents. It sparkles with energy and a sense of spontaneity drawing upon Basque and Spanish melodies, jazz riffs and even his childhood fascination with mechanical toys. Rachmaninov’s elegant, ingenious, and often surprising Third Symphony is more in concerto form than symphony. Thematic strands endlessly weave and overlap one another, bound together by a theme that recurs in various transformations. This chant-like motto appears quietly at the very opening but before long, it bursts forth in loud, stern animation and a thunderous, celebratory conclusion: all dark thoughts banished.Works and composers:Bridge - SummerRavel - Piano Concerto in GRachmaninov - Symphony No.3This concert is part of an ongoing series on Wednesday evenings at Lighthouse, Poole. Multibuy discounts are on offer for all concerts booked through the BSO Box Office – so the more you visit, the more you save! They will also be streaming 19 Digital Concerts this season so check out their What’s On page on bsolive.com, to see which concerts you can watch from the comfort of your own home.